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Recently, I decided to reintroduce salmon into my diet because salmon is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. But, Tina finds that cooked salmon is usually very dense, chewy, and not very tasty. The easiest salmon recipe I know is simply to sprinkle lemon-pepper on salmon, optionally add some garlic slices, and bake at 350°F. Unfortunately, unless you enjoy the natural cooked flavors of salmon, this dish isn't that compelling. Lucky for me, the July & August 2004 issue of Cook's Illustrated magazine contained a quick recipe for Glazed Salmon. Not only is this recipe easy to make, it tastes excellent.

First I took a large fillet of salmon and cut into pieces, each about 8 oz. (225 grams).[IMG]

After mixing the soy sauce and maple syrup together, I poured it into a 9x13 in. pan. I placed the salmon filets flesh side down into the mixture. In my case, I had more salmon than could fit in a single pan, so I whipped up another batch of soy sauce and maple syrup for the extra pieces. I slipped these into the refrigerator while preparing the glaze.[IMG]

I then poured 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and a 1/4 cup of maple syrup into a small saucepan. I then brought it to a simmer and held it there for a couple minutes to thicken up into a glaze. I set aside two tablespoons for use later and took the rest outside to the grill (which I turned on).[IMG]

I took the salmon out of the refrigerator and liberally covered the flesh of the fillets with fresh ground black pepper.[IMG]

I took the salmon out to my preheated grill. After soaking a paper towel in some vegetable oil, I used a pair of tongs and rubbed the grill with oil to keep the fish from sticking. Then, I placed the salmon flesh side down on the grill over high heat for three minutes.[IMG]

I flipped the salmon over (still on high heat) and brushed some glaze over each piece (onto the exposed flesh).[IMG]

After two minutes (when the thickest part of the filet has been cooked about halfway through), I brushed more glaze onto the flesh and flipped them over onto the low heat side of the grill.[IMG]

After another two minutes, the salmon is done. Brush the reserved glaze on and it's ready to serve. If cooked properly, the salmon should have a nice crust as well as a soft almost flaky interior. (If it flakes easily, then it's a bit overcooked.)[IMG]

I'm an expat American living in Belgium and cooking is my hobby. Over here discussing things like the benefits of omega-3 and the horrible dangers of hydrogenated fat are normal, I did not think many in the States were aware of these things. I am very happy to see that you are spreading the word Mike. Nowadays people spend a fortune on schools for their children and still pump them full of trans fats. A simple step like upping the omega-3 and eliminating hydrogenated fats would add many IQ points on to your little loved ones brains.

I too recently reintroduced salmon into my family's diet to increase our omega-3 intake. The problem with salmon is that the best type, wild salmon, is rare and expensive. The standard cultivated version is fed with pellets that contain dangerous chemicals. Luckily here in Belgium we now have organic cultivated salmon, which is much, much lower in pollutants.

I think the best way to serve salmon is from a recipe in the pink Chez Pannise cookbook, grilled salmon with a tomato/basil vinaigrette sauce. I bet my children would like this glazed recipe that you have presented today Mike so I'm going to give it a try.

BTW if you are interested, I can send over a translation of some simple recipes that are currently quite popular with home cooks in France and Belgium.

Since the George Foreman electric grill doesn't have high/low settings, I would grill the salmon on an open grill (or for half the time with the grill closed). You'll have to be real careful when watching the salmon to make sure it doesn't get overdone while you are finishing the cooking.

The problem with constant high heat is that the outside gets fully cooked (and over cooked) before the insides are done. Low heat cooking allows a more even temperature rise within the food being cooked (especially for larger pieces of meat). My suggestion is to give it a try; the results should still be more than satisfactory.

Cool title for a blog This is certainly the place to come for cooking tips.

Salmon is the best fish ever. But not baked! We are spoiled over here in NZ where our food tastes wonderful. Here's how salmon gets prepared in my house.

- Buy fresh salmon fillets
- Remove skin and bones
- Cut salmon into portions (similar size to the glazed salmon recipe)
- Marinade in fresh lemon juice for at least 6 hours (we have a lemon tree out back - very handy)
- Once marinaded, fry the salmon in a non stick frying pan. Don't add oil. Remember to put extractor fan on as it can smell quite strong.
- Season the salmon with salt and pepper before turning in the frying pan
- Serve with hot potatoes (we just boil the potatoes and serve with a touch of cheese dip).

I don't typically include time in the recipe summaries because it isn't too meaningful unless a specific temperature is specified (as in baking). Time isn't all that accurate of a means to convey how long to cook something since humidity, ambient temperature, and other factors will affect cooking time. Also, I leave it out to save space in the summary.

For this specific recipe, it's more important to grill the flesh and skin to form a crust than for any specific time. Hope it's not too inconvenient that it's been left out, but hopefully you read the whole article and the summary is there to remind you to do certain steps - not to replace the article.

No, honey would not taste weird. The substitution for honey can be made one for one with maple syrup. Just go ahead and use 1/3 cup honey instead of 1/3 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup honey in the glaze instead of the 1/4 cup maple syrup. Should taste great!